Vehicle hoist



E. B. THOMPSON April 22,1952

VEHICLE HOIST Filed Dec. 13, 1948 4 Sheets-Sheet I I N VL'N T'oe flmer 5[bom mn Apr 1952 E. B. THOMPSON VEHICLE HOIST 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FiledDec. 13, 1948 Fig.2

m Mm 7 2 a 2 MM INVENTOE 1171?!" 5 Tfiomfon April 22, 1952 E. B.THOMPSON VEHICLE HOIST Filed Dec.

4 SheeisSheet 3 I NVENTOZ lflnmez- 1 iqhonq Mon W Klilillllllllllllllllu a ti 51d Apr 1952 E. B. THOMPSON VEHICLE I-IOIST I4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 13, 1948 I N VE N TOE E lmer 5- T/lonlpsanPatented Apr. 22, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VEHICLE HOIST ElmerB. Thompson, Des Moines, Iowa, assign'or to Globe Hoist Company, DesMoines, Iowa, a

corporation of Iowa Application December 13, i948, Serial No. 65,007

This invention relates generally to hoists or lifts to be used in theservicing and lubricating of automobiles and trucks, and in particularto a vehicle hoist of this type which provides for completeaccessibility to the under side of a vehicle, and for a freeandimobstructive use of the fioor space occupied by the hoist, when thehoist is in either a raised or lowered position. It is an object of myinvention, therefore, to'

provide an improved vehicle hoist.

A further object of my invention is to provide a vehicle hoist of aconstruction such that all parts at the under side of a vehicle arecapable of being serviced and removed while the vehicle chassis is in asupported position on the hoist.

Yet another object of my invention is to provide a vehicle hoist adaptedto engage opposite sides of the vehicle frame at positions between Yetanother object of my invention is to provide a hoist capable of raisingvehicles having varying wheel bases, without requiring any initialadjustments to accommodate such vehicles.

Yet a further object of my invention is to provide a hoist in whichvehicle frame engaging members are of a flat horizontal constructioncapable of being received in narrowor shallow floor recesses, which canbe left uncovered at all times, or the engaging members can be supporteddirectly on the floor surface, without in any way creating any potentialphysical hazards, such as a foot slipping withina recess or trippingover a frame supporting member. v

Further objects, features and advantages of this invention will becomeapparent from the following description when taken in connection withthe accompanying drawings in which: n

Fig. l is a perspective view of the hoist of my invention shown in 'araised position and with 1 Claim.v (Cl. 254.89)

\ as seen on lines 5- -5 and 6-6, respectively, in

Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on line 11 inFig. 1 showing a vehicle supported on the hoist; r Fig. 8 is an enlargedsectional detail view as.

seen along the line 8- 8 in Fig. 2, showing the vehicle frame engagingmember of the hoist in n a lowered position on the floor surface;

Figs. 9 and 10 are illustrated similarly to Fig. 8, and show modifiedinstallations of the vehicle frame engaging members;

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a modified form of the hoist of myinvention shown in a raised position; I

Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail perspective view of a pit cover member;

Fig. 13 is a reduced plan view of the hoist of Fig. 11 with the hoistshown in a lowered position; and

Figs. 14 and 15 are enlarged sectional detail views taken on the lines14-44 and l5l5, respectively, in Fig. 13. I

With reference to the drawings, the hoist of my invention is shown inFig. l as including a pair, of oppositely arranged transversely spacedhoists of a like construction. Only one of the hoists, therefore, willbe referred to in detail in the following description and like numeralswill be used to designate like parts in the hoists.

Each hoist is floor mounted and includes a;

cylinder l5 (Figs; 1 and 3) operatively associated with a piston orlifting'member [6. The upper end of the cylinder I5 is formed with alaterally extended annular flange I! to which a combination packing andupper bearing member for the piston l6, indicated generally at [8, issecured by clamping bolts IS. The lower end of the piston I6 is guidedfor up and down movement within the cylinder by a lower movable bearing2|.

The piston I6 is of a hollow construction closed at its lower end by abottom wall 22 and at its upper end by a top wall or cover member 23.The

cylinder 15 is mounted within the floor surface 24 such that when thepiston 16 is in its lowered position the top surface of the piston covermember 23 is substantially level with the floor surface 24. Secured tothe cover member 23 as by countersunk screws 26 is a vehicle frameengaging or contact member 21 of. a horizontal fiat plate construction.The frame contact member 21 is of a substantially rectangular shape andextended longitudinally of the vehicle to be lifted.

Whenthe piston I6 is in a lowered position, as shown in Fig. 8, thebottom side 28 of the frame contact member 21 rests directly on the topof the floor surface 24 in a covering relation with the floor opening 29formed about the upper .;end of the cylinder It to accommodate thecylinder flange I! and bearing member [8. It is contemplated that thecontact member 21 be of a relatively narrow thickness so that in alowered position of the piston l6, and with the member 2! restingdirectly on the floor 24, the floor space occupied by the hoist iscapable of being normally used, namely, grease wagons, wheel dollies,ve-

hicles and the like, can freely travel thereover.

Further, because of this relatively narrow thickness, garage men canwalk over the hoistwithout fear of tripping over any obstructing part ofthe hoist. To further facilitate the passage of ve- 4 of the vehicle 3!can be completely removed, or the torque tube can be completelydisassembled, without'requiri-ng the use of any high'horses or the like,as is now common practice when work is to be done on these parts of thevehicle.

.The pistons l6 are raised and lowered in the usual manner by meansincluding a buried oil tank'38 (Fig. 1) connected with a compressor or,the; like (not shown) by an air inlet pipe 37 hicles and persons overthe contact member-sir the peripheral edge of the top side oftheconta'ct members may be formed with an angle or a chamfer 3 0.

of the hoist (5f iii gagement of the side frame members 34 of thevehicle main frame or chassis 36 by the contact members21 when the.hoists are elevated. The width of the contact members 2 'l is such asto provide for the engagement of the side frame members 34 by thecontact members without requiring an exact centering of the framemembers 34 relative to the hoists. Since only a "small eccentric loadingresults when the side frame members 34 are adjacent to the side portionsof the contact members 21, the effic'i'ency of, the'hoist ism no w r mnl It is to be importantly noted that the location of the vehicle withthe contact members 21 be tween its front wheels 32 and rear wheels 33takes place without regard to the wheel base of the vehicle 3|. As arsuuthe usual adjustment of:

a'xl'e engaging members, 'now required in. general commercial use, isentirely eliminated with 'a resultant saving in time and in. ccnven-.

[On elevation of the pistons Hi "to raise the v' hicle "3| (Fig. 7) thelower sides of the vehicle frame members 34 are directly engaged by thetop sides of the contact members 27. Since the' members 21 are of alength corresponding sub; stantially 'to the distance between the frontwheels 32 and the rear wheels 33 of the vehicle, the vehicle ispositively supported against both" lateral and longitudinal tiltingmovement. A'sja result the piston l6 may be positioned anywhere betweenthe ends of a corresponding contact on, while Still maintaining apositive Support of the vehicle in an elevated position. Dire to thetransverse spacing of the hoists, and the 'ex'tem sion or, the "contact,members 2'! idngiwai'n'any of the vehicle, 'and along opposite sidesthereof, a

maximum working space is afforded to a service man or mechanic forrepairing or lubricating parts at the under side of the vehicle.

Stated otherwise, a mechanic is free to under the car, over its fulllength, without'interengagedgby the contact members :213eitlier1-aXle.

walk

member 21', to apply a single upward force there- F equipped withanaircontrol valve, indicated generallyas :38, and. including a control lever39 and an air exhaust port 4!. On movement of 'the1ever'39"to its"dotted line position shown at A, air/under pressure is supplied to thetank 38 through the line 42; on movement of the lever 39 g tsne a ',.;i..n .PQ 9 wn n air is -prev entel fromjravelling through the line or. pipe connect ion 4 2; and on movement of the lever 39 to i t s do ttedline position shown ;at B, airis'exhausted fr'o'rn the tank 36 throughthe exhaustoutlet l l fl e'I 'he tank 36 is connected with the cylinders l5 through an oil supply line 43 provided with an oil' control valve44 and terminating in inlet feed lines 46 which are connected to thecylinders I5. The oil valve 44 and air valve 38 are conveniently locatednear each other at positions above the floor 24 for concurrentactuationby the hoist operator. In this manner, the pistons l6 are"simultaneously operated in response to a manipulation of the oilcontrol valve 44.

To assure a positive unified movement 'of the pistons I6 I 'provide asynchronizing mechanism which includes a shaft 4! (Fig. '7) extendedtransversely between the hoists and mounted in a floor pit 48 adapted tobeclosed by a cover member 49 of a' substantially rectangular shape.Each end of the shaft 41 is rotatably supported in a pair of bearingplates 5| which are secured to and project downwardly from the covermember 49 at positions opposite the hoist cylinders l5. Mounted on theshaft 47, between each pair of bearing plates 5|, is a pinio'n gear 52adapted for meshing engagement with a. gear rack 53 having its upper endconnected at '50 with 'the underside of a respective contact member orplate 21. Since relative assembly and construction"of, a rack 53 and itsassociated pinion gear 52 is the same for each hoist, only one of theseassemblies will be referred to in detail in the following description. v

A rack 53 (Figs. 3, 4 and 5) is guidably supported for up and downmovement within a square tubular member 54 of a length 'subs'tarp tiallycoextensive with a cylinder I5 and positi'oned in the ground surface 24at a position adjacent to and in a parallel. relation with a cylinderI5. The upper end of the tube or rack guide-54 has its upper end'55 cutaway, as indicated at 56, to receive the shaft 41. At a position spaceddownwardly from its upper end 55, and opposite the "cut away portion 55,the tube 54 has welded thereto a lateral-1y projected flat arcuate strap51 formed at each 'end w'ith an opening 58 for receiving a clampingboltlB.

In assembly, the strap 51 is positioned'jbelow and in contact engagementwith the cylinder flange H, with the wall portion 59 of the tube 54located between the strap 51 and its upper end 55 in abutting engagementwith the outer through the bearing member [8, the flange 1 1 and thestrap 51 sothat on being tightened the upper end of the tube 54 ispositively secured to :the upperend 'of-thecylinder l 5-. r

The lower end 6| of the tube 54 (Figs. 3 and 6) is received within anupstanding rim 52 of a shape corresponding to the transverse section ofthe tube 54, and formed by suitably arranging together four anglesections 63, the vertical legs 64 of which constitute'the' rim 62 andthe horizontal legs 66 of whicha're "secured by bolts 61 to a laterallyextended flange or support 68 formed as a part of the cylinder base 69.It is to be understood, of course, that the lower end iii of the tube54, is inserted withinthe rim 62.prior to the assembly of the tube withthe upper end of the cylinder l5.

The cover member 49 (Figs. 1 and 3) is cut away at H to receive the rack53 and is firmly secured to the floor surface 24 as by counter- .sunkscrews 12 threadable within angle members 65 which define the upperedges of the pit opening 48 for the shaft 41.

In operation, the lowering or raising of either hoist provides for alike movement of the other hoist regardless of the load distribution onthe hoist. As a result the pistons l6 operate together as a unit. Insome instances the synchronizing mechanism, above described, may beeliminated and the movement of the piston l6 controlled by the doubleoil valve arrangement shown in my Patent No. 2,423,954.

As previously mentioned, the contact members 21, in a lowered positionof the pistons l6, rest directly on the floor surface 24. Since thesemembers are of a relatively narrow thickness, in the neighborhood ofabout one inch, the hoist in its lowered position provides for asubstantially normal use of the floor space occupied by the hoist whileeliminating entirely the need for any recesses in the floor forreceiving the members 21. The installation cost of the hoist is thussubstantially reduced.

However, if desired, the contact members 21 may be fully received withinfloor recesses 15, as shown in Fig. 10- or in the use of a heavy dutyhoist for truck and bus work, for example, if it is desired tostrengthen the contact members 21 by increasing their thickness, in theneighborhood of about two and one-half inches, they may be partiallyreceived within floor recesses 18 as shown in Fig. 9. This isaccomplished by merely installing the cylinders at correspondingincreased depths within the floor 24, relative to its showing in Fig. 3.By thus recessing the floor 24, a safe and normal use of the fioorsurface occupied by the hoist is maintaained for both a raised orlowered position of the hoist.

The modified form of my invention shown in Figs. 11-15, inclusive, issimilar in all respects to the hoist shown in Fig. 1 except that contactmembers 13 are substituted for the contact members 21. Like numeralswill be used, therefore, to designate like parts in my modified form.

A contact member 13 is of an open frame construction, and rectangular inshape, having side upright flat members 14 connected to ether at theirends by upright flat end members 16. Received between the side membersI4, at a position intermediate the ends thereof, is a support member 11which is secured to a piston cover 23 by screws 18. In turn the supportmember TI is fixed to the side members '14 by welding, indicated at 19.In order to receive the side members l4 and end members 16 within thefloor 24, such that the supporting member TI is flush with the floor,when the hoist is in its lowered position shown in Fig. 13, the floorfor each hoist, is formed with a pair of parallel recesses or grooves 8|arranged at opposite sides of a hoist at a distance apart correspondingto the distance between a pair of respective side members 14. Grooves orrecesses 82, for the ,end members 16, extend transversely betweenopposite ends of the longitudinal recesses 8|, Withthe recesses 8| and82 being of a size and shape to receive therein the members 14 and 16,respectively.

To accommodate the inner adjacent members 14 of the contact members 13the closure means for the shaft pit 48 is comprised of a center cover 83and a pair of end covers 84. The center cover 83extends transverselybetween the inner adjacent grooves 8| and is secured by countersunkscrews 86 to the upper portion of the side walls which define the pit48.

Each end cover 84 (Figs. 11 and 12) extends transversely between a pairof corresponding floor recesses 8| and is cut away at 81 to receive arack 53. The shaft 41 for the pinions 52 has each end thereof supportedin a pair of spaced bearing plates 88 projected downwardly from an endcover 84 to opposite sides of the cut away portion 81 therein. Floorscrews 89 are used to hold the end covers 84 in fixed positions on thefloor 24.

1 24, when the hoist is elevated Since the operation of the modifiedform of my hoist is similar in all respects to the operation of thehoist shown in Fig. 1, a further description of its operation isbelieved to be unnecessary.

From a consideration of the above description it is seen that myinvention provides a hoist which is of a simple construction, economicalto manufacture and install, and substantially universal in itsapplication to automobiles and trucks. Thus, a single hoist of adequatecapacity will handle both automobiles and trucks. Further, since nofloor recesses are required for receiving the vehicle frame engagingmembers, a. full and clear walking space for a mechanic or a service manis provided over the entire floor surface 24 beneath an elevatedvehicle. Since only those portions of the vehicle frame members 34,extended between the vehicle front and rear wheels, is contacted by theframe engaging members, full accessibility is given to all of thoseparts at the under side of the vehicle so that the car, while in anelevated position, can be completely dismantled so that only its mainframe or chassis remains on the hoist. Further, any large part removedfrom the car, such as a torque tube, can be carried away from either endof the car for bench work or the like, without interference in any wayfrom the raised pistons l6.

Although my invention has been described and illustrated with respect toseveral preferred forms thereof, it is to be understood that it is notto be so limited since changes and modifications can be made thereinwhich are within the full intended scope of my invention as defined bythe appended claim.

I claim:

For elevating a vehicle having a main frame with front and rear wheelsthereon, a vehicle lift including a pair of transversely spaced liftmembers, a horizontal flat plate mounted directly on each lift memberand of such a length to engage tmiyl a; portion: of'the frame of thevehicle be tween the front and rear wheels andpre'senting. a fiatcontinuous upper surface to so engage the vehicleframe', said horizontalplates, in the use of the lift, being located between said front andrear wheels and of a length to support said frame against longitudinaltilting movement.

ELMER Bi THOMPSON.

, REFERENCES cITEn The following references are of record in the fi l eof this patent:

" 2 STATES PATENTS number 1:0 Number Name Date Gearing Jan. 28, 1908Stukenborg Nov, 29, 1932 Fitch Feb. 2, 1937 Blum July 26, 1938 ThompsonJuly 15, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Switzerland Dec. 1, 1932France Aug. 25, 1930

